Turkey’s Growing Defense Capabilities, Partnerships and Industrial Base

A Turkish Land Forces helicopter formation sweeps over a fleet led by TCG Anadolu (L-400), May 21, 2026, at Efes. USNI News photo

Ankara’s Ambition

Turkey’s Growing Defense Capabilities, Partnerships and Industrial Base

Aaron-Matthew Lariosa

June 2, 2026 3:59 PM

DOĞANBEY TRAINING AREA, TURKEY — Two-thousand-pound bombs, artillery shells and naval bombardments sent shockwaves through the valley in Turkey where the Aegean Army focused its firepower last month.

Every explosion captured the attention of Turkish Armed Forces commanders, international observers and reporters perched atop two hills within a kilometer of the live-fire drills. The event was the concluding exercise of Efes – one of Ankara’s largest military exercises – and the culmination of weeks of drills involving more than 10,000 troops and observers from 50 nations.

This multi-national approach to the Turkish-led exercise could be seen by the diversity of the observers and direct participants. Troops from Somalia, Libya and Syria – nations or factions that have been backed by Ankara in recent years – were involved in numerous drills, including amphibious landing and heliborne assault operations. While Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and many European partners were present at Efes, Turkish military leadership emphasized that these drills were not directly correlated to that alliance.

In what could only be described as the Turkish reenactment of 1979 war film Apocalypse Now’s “Ride of the Valkyrie’s” scene, a wave of around 20 attack and transport rotary-wing aircraft cruised over the water. Syrian and Libyan troops were among those carried in the fleet of Chinooks, Black Hawks and Cougars. Domestically-built T-129 ATAKs, a Turkish development of an Italian attack helicopter design, escorted the aerial armada.

The pair of attack helicopters popped flares over a fleet of unmanned surface vessels, missile boats, corvettes, frigates, landing craft and TCG Anadolu (L-400), the drone carrier flagship of the Turkish Naval Forces, that stretched across the horizon.

In January, Anadolu led a naval task force and amphibious contingent on a near 5,000-mile voyage to Germany for a NATO exercise. The drills and major Turkish contingent demonstrated the country’s growing expeditionary capabilities.

Over the course of the day, the demonstration of Turkish firepower and amphibious assault power cascaded across the Doğanbey training area. It was a blatant showcase of two decades of Turkey’s investments into its defense industrial base. Underlining the drone strikes, naval maneuvers and F-16 strafing runs were the troops from Ankara’s growing network of partners from the Middle East and Africa.

Aegean Forces Test New Capabilities

Named after the ancient city of Ephesus, the biennial exercise, which spanned April 20 to May 21 is designed to test the joint operations of the Turkish military and implement new equipment within Ankara’s Aegean Army command.

Compared to previous iterations, 2026 saw a longer command and control training period from one to two weeks. Exercise planners highlighted that this year included the use of domestically-made command and control equipment and the involvement of artificial intelligence.

Tasked with the defense of Ankara’s western regions, the forces here are primarily responsible for any contingencies occurring with long-term rival Greece.

Aside from the complicated history between the two nations, the Aegean dispute has resulted in a major posturing of military forces from Athens and Ankara in the region. Disagreements stem from the close proximity of their islands, with the closest Greek island only 1.2 miles offshore from Turkey.

Territorial baselines and interpretations of the extent of exclusive economic zone waters have resulted in several skirmishes and standoffs in recent decades. Incidents range from fighter dogfights to maritime standoffs. Turkey’s Aegean Army also hosts the command responsible for Ankara’s forces based in Cyprus following the 1974 Invasion, known to Turks as the Cyprus Peace Operation.

With these challenges in mind, the Turkish command hosts a large number of airmobile and amphibious capable troops to deal with potential contingencies.

The training valley was pockmarked with vehicle wrecks and craters from previous drills. Large letters and numbers were scattered on several hills to designate targets for artillery strikes, cannon fire, bombing runs and attack helicopters. Exercise planners listed off the capabilities and demonstrations as they came through loud speakers to the audience of foreign military officers and journalists.

Both days showcased the heliborne capabilities of the Turkish military to rapidly deploy troops and provide close air support. Hundreds of rounds of 20mm cannon rounds and over a dozen missile shots, including a ripple of American AGM-114 Hellfire missiles from Super Cobra attack helicopters, ripped into the sandy hills.

The live-fire was joined by F-16s dropping 2,000-pound precision-guided bombs and warships offshore pummeling the hills with cannon fire. Flagship of the Turkish fleet Anadolu launched a TB-3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle from its deck. Around a dozen warships and vessels surrounded the 27,000-ton amphib, ranging from Cold War-era Oliver Hazard Perry frigates and German-made missile boats to new Ada-class corvettes.

Following the air attacks and artillery strikes, Turkish Mariner Zaha Marine Amphibious Vehicles approached the beach ahead of large landing ships carrying heavily upgraded M-60 tanks. These amphibious forces made their way up the coastal road in a procession of mechanized equipment.

Defense Industries at the Forefront

Recessed behind the exercise area, Turkish defense firms displayed indigenous equipment spanning from small arms, tanks, warships, artillery systems, cruise missiles and drones. The origins of Ankara’s domestic defense industries could be traced to the aftermath of the 1974 Invasion of Cyprus. Ensuing American sanctions on the Turkish military inspired several laws and initiatives to spur the creation of a large defense industrial base.

Overseen by the government through a foundation that controls major shares in the country’s largest defense contractors, the state-directed mandates have allowed a shift from its previous import reliant posture.

Ankara has used its arms export to back partners and allies. While some exports go to NATO, such as warships and vessels to Romania and Portugal, a vast majority is funneled toward Turkey’s bilateral relationships throughout the Global South.

Footage from Turkish Bayaktar drones frequently make waves on social media. The firm’s TB-2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle debuted in full on the global stage during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The drone has since deployed over the battlefields of Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Ukraine.

Within the last half century, indigenous defense efforts have helped Turkey establish in-house capabilities from maintenance, repair and overhaul, missile production and shipbuilding.

As a result of these efforts, construction of the Turkish Naval Forces’ first domestically-made aircraft carrier and air defense destroyer began last year. The national aircraft carrier program will see the construction of a 60,000-ton short take-off but arrested recovery flattop designed to launch and recover domestically-made combat aircraft and drones.

To escort the carrier and lead future surface action groups, Turkey is looking to construct eight Tepe-class guided-missile destroyers. This class of 8,300-ton surface combatants aims to bring advanced air defense capabilities with a magazine of 96 vertical launching system cells.

In the Indo-Pacific, derivatives of the Turkish-designed Ada-class corvette will likely become a common sight in the Indian Ocean Region and South China Sea as Pakistan and Malaysia are set to induct the corvettes into their fleets.

These arm exports and naval build-up efforts are in support of Ankara’s greater foreign policy ambitions throughout the region.

Turkey’s Partners – and Customers – at Efes

A large amount of global south militaries – specifically states that receive Turkish backing – were present at Efes, observing the drills taking place. While this collection of allies does not represent a larger, multilateral alliance akin to NATO, it does reflect a serious commitment from Ankara into the lesser-covered conflicts in the world.

Turkish defense capabilities are being used in smaller conflicts across the global south, made possible through numerous bilateral agreements.

Last week, a Turkish-made drone affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces reportedly downed a manned fighter jet belonging to the Rapid Support Force. In Somalia, Turkish fighters and frigates have been deployed to provide support against Islamist extremists and maintain maritime security.

Libya’s internationally-recognized government received tanks, drones and even direct naval support from Ankara. The faction that prevailed in the Syrian Civil War received significant backing by Turkey. The list goes on with conflicts in the Congo, East Africa and even the recent India-Pakistan skirmishes.

These sales and defense efforts put Turkey in the middle of a series of complicated rivalries with other powers. France and India are among the larger nations that have been caught up in this web of arms exports. Both nations have armed Armenia with artillery and air defense systems amid its conflict with Turkish-back Azerbaijan. In the Mediterranean, the Hellenic Navy was recently bolstered with modern French-built frigates.

Aside from the Efes participants and observers, there was also a large portion of those interested in procuring Ankara’s equipment to deal with more recent challenges.

Several Turkish defense firms confirmed that multiple Middle Eastern nations had expressed interest in domestically-made air defense systems to defeat massed drone threats. Another firm said that their recent investments focused on preparing Turkish munition factories for mass artillery shell production. Numerous unmanned surface vessels, including kamikaze variants designed to sink ships, were shown and demonstrated at Efes.

Lessons from Ukraine, the U.S.-Iran War and potential markets prioritizing maritime strike capabilities have influenced the trajectory of Turkey’s defense industrial base – one that is eager to deliver to a profitable global market.

At Efes, Turkey’s military capabilities, defense diplomacy and domestic industrial capabilities were combined into one package to showcase Ankara’s growing ambitions.

Aaron-Matthew Lariosa

Aaron-Matthew Lariosa is a freelance defense journalist. His coverage focuses on Philippine defense modernization, the South China Sea and U.S. efforts in the first island chain.
Follow @Aaron_MatthewIL